Liverpool show great 'character'
Brendan Rodgers and 'character' became almost synonymous of each other toward the latter end of his reign at Liverpool, with the Northern Irish manager regularly using it as a way to describe his teams performance with results failing to go their way.
The former Liverpool boss was ridiculed on social media for his use of the term but today his former side showed that character to snatch victory from Norwich in a 5-4 thriller at Carrow Road, with James Milner praising his sides 'character' to get themselves back into the game when 3-1 down.
“To show the character to come back, and then have the disappointment of conceding in stoppage time, it would have been easy to roll over but we went again and got the result." Milner told BT Sport.
“We need to cut the mistakes out, it is something we need to look at and improve on. As long as we do that the potential is there, we have shown that, we just need to do it more consistently.”
Lallana's late goal sparked wild celebrations amongst the Liverpool faithful, including this from Jurgen Klopp.
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Time is running out for Van Gaal
A uncharacteristically venturesome 3-3 draw against Newcastle and a laboured away victory against Liverpool seemed to ease the pressure on Louis Van Gaal, but today saw Man Utd revert back to the Dutchman's slow paced philosophy at Old Trafford during their defeat to Southampton.
The Stretford End boos at the final whistle were telling as it seems the United support have now long lost faith in the Dutchman's ability to bring them back to the pinnacle of English football, particularly with his heavily criticised brand of football.
Van Gaal admitted in his post match interview that the fans had a right to boo and he is beginning to feel the heat of the situation.
"I can understand also because I have seen also a poor match.
"I cannot change that feeling. I can only work hard with my players to improve our game.
"I am disappointed. We have to change this. That is my job and not an easy job at the moment."
"You cannot say that they (the fans) are not right."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">By all meaningful yardsticks Van Gaal is failing. Results. Entertainment. Recruitment. Development. Whenever he gets momentum it disappears.</p>— Jonathan Northcroft (@JNorthcroft) <a href="https://twitter.com/JNorthcroft/status/690979080737525760">January 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Leicester going nowhere
People are fast running out of superlatives to describe Leicester City's season to date, with even the naysayers now beginning to believe this is a genuine title challenge.
Since day one Leicester have been mixing it with the big boys in the upper echelons of the league but with each positive result there has been a tiny shroud of doubt that eventually they would falter and begin to fade into mid-table obscurity, but coming into the final stretch of the season the Foxes remain in the hunt for Premier League glory.
While Claudio Ranieri is credited with the meteoric rise, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have been stealing the show on the pitch and again the two were heavily involved as they emphatically dispatched Stoke at the KP Stadium.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OUTRAGEOUS FLIP-FLAP NUTMEG FROM MAHREZ! Lovely ball into Ulloa and it's 3-0!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LCFC?src=hash">#LCFC</a> <a href="https://t.co/sa93Qt3Wf3">pic.twitter.com/sa93Qt3Wf3</a></p>— Leicester City FC (@FIRST4LCFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIRST4LCFC/status/690939226699997188">January 23, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Spurs establish Champions League credentials
Spurs have been motoring along nicely this season under Mauricio Pochettino, and have been flying somewhat under the radar in their pursuit of Champions League football.
Today they notched another win under their belts, coming from behind to beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park, and in the process put five points between them and fifth place Man Utd.
With a young, exciting English core to their side, Spurs have been playing an excellent brand of football with many neutrals willing them on to reach the Champions League for the first time since 2011.
And why wouldn't they be, when they score goals like this.
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Source: Streamable.com
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